Official Newsletter of the Western Australian Aviation College – May 2005

Even if you had no interest in aviation, you would still have been glued to your TV as the Airbus A380 took off for the first time. On April 27th 2005, at Blagnac International Airport, France, the 21st century version of the double decker bus took to the skies, and what a magnificent sight it was.

Apparently the maiden voyage lasted for a little under four hours, every minute going to plan.

I believe a world record was broken as the A380, with a take off weight of 421 tonnes, climbed away. It was the heaviest commercial airliner to become airborne.
The industry has supported the project well, with Airbus vaunting 154 orders already. That must be refreshing for Airbus, especially after investing 12 Billion Euros (20 Billion AUD) into the project.

Whilst all of this was happening in France, the last Boeing 757 was delivered to Shanghai Airlines, China. The 757 was first delivered in 1979 and well over 1000 have since been delivered and are still operating today. I think we all agree, that is a major achievement by Boeing.

I met with the Sales Manager from Gulf Air last week, Norhan Youssef, an excellent ambassador for her airline. I understand they have just reported a profit for the first time since 1997. After a three year restructuring program, the debt ratio has been put back into perspective and the financial position is starting to flourish. Congratulations to the President / CEO of Gulf Air, Australian born James Hogan. These success stories are most welcome in the aviation industry!

Have a great month and safe flying.






Mark Cheveralls
College Principal

One of the best things about flying is that it constantly tests our abilities. With increasing experience, our level of situational awareness improves and we are less likely to get ‘caught out’ by the unexpected. Unfortunately though, we are only human, and it doesn’t matter how many thousands of hours we have, we are still vulnerable when we drop our guard. And so I relate to you a story that may ring a few bells with other helicopter pilots.

As helicopter pilots, we must always remember that the main rotor can dip close enough to the ground to decapitate someone, whilst the tail rotor becomes invisible in certain lighting conditions. The pilot must, under all circumstances, be aware of who is moving around the machine and why. The implications of someone walking into our spinning blades do not bear thinking about.

In February 1990, cyclone Ofa devastated the Samoan Islands in the Pacific. The Australian government pledged support and thus I, and a team of about ten others, found ourselves jammed into the back of a C130 with our UH-1H Huey helicopter bound for Samoa. For two weeks we carried out medivacs, food supply drops etc. It was incredibly rewarding flying and beautiful scenery, despite the cyclone damage. During the two weeks I dropped my guard, and escaped an accident by pure good luck.

On our food drops we carried a Samoan policeman to help keep the locals away from the helicopter on the ground. After landing at one particular village, with the engine still running, my loadmaster began offloading boxes of food whilst the policeman stepped out of the aircraft. He stood a few feet from the aircraft and kept a watchful eye on the now gathering throngs, indicating for them to stay clear. I could see him from the pilots seat, and was happy that he new the correct procedures. He had, after all, been with us for a few flights now.

Happy with the situation, I turned to look out of the front of the aircraft, an area that my co-pilot was visually monitoring. We had a quick laugh as we observed some of the village children jumping around, obviously excited by the site of the chopper. When I turned to look out the rear door again the policeman was gone. As I pushed the intercom switch to alert the crew, I saw the loadmaster look up from his unloading work towards the rear of the aircraft. He yelled “unprintable!”. There was insufficient time for the loadmaster to reach the policeman. As I closed the throttle, the loadmaster observed the policeman walk to within a foot of the spinning tail rotor blade before ducking under it. His head missed the bottom of the blade arc by no more than 4 inches. I shut the aircraft down and decided a ‘rebrief’ to the policeman was appropriate. After questioning, he told me he hadn’t seen the spinning blade, and the only reason he had ducked was to get under the ‘stinger’, a metal pole that sits underneath the tail boom to prevent tail rotor strikes on landing. Had the stinger not been there, he would have walked straight into the tail rotor.

The lesson is relatively simple for us helicopter pilots. It doesn’t matter how good your brief is, nor how well your procedures are documented, in the end, the pilot must stay alert the whole time the aircraft is on the ground with the engine running. People will do unpredictable things, and we are the ones who must be ready to stop them hurting themselves.

Safe Flying.
Craig

The duration of the course is three years full-time. The theoretical and practical flying training (Advanced Diploma in Aviation) is completed at the college facilities at Jandakot Airport using specialists from the military and general aviation industry. The Bachelor of Commerce degree in Management follows at Murdoch University.

Call today for more information on (08) 9417 7733 or visit us at

www.waaviationcollege.com.au

He scans her from head to toe and answers, "A quickie."

The hostie turns and walks away in disgust. After she regains her composure she returns and asks again, "What would you like, sir?"

Again the man thoroughly checks her out, and again says: "A quickie, please."

This time her anger takes over, and she reaches over and slaps him across the face with a resounding "SMACK!" and storms away.

The bloke in the window seat leans over and whispers, "Um ... I think it's pronounced 'quiche'."

Accepted by Qantas for the purposes of pilot recruitment

Next Course starts on 29th August 2005

Call today on (08) 9417 7733 or visit our web site

www.waaviationcollege.com.au

25th May
Physics
30th May
Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) Part 1 & Part 2
6th June
Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training Full Time
Private Pilot Licence (P.P.L.) Full Time
7th June
Dangerous Goods Awareness.
13th June
Commercial Pilot Licence (C.P.L.)
4th July
Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training Full Time
Dangerous Goods Awareness.
5th July
Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training Part Time
9th, 10th & 13th July
Basic Aeronautical Knowledge (B.A.K.)
18th July
Advanced Diploma in Aviation
Certificate IV in Aviation Flight Operations (Helicopter)
Private Pilot Licence (P.P.L.) Part Time
1st August
Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training Full Time
15th August
Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL). Part 1
Aircraft Maintenance
22nd August
Instrument Rating Theory (PIFR/IREX).
29th August
Maths & Physics (Maths)
3rd & 4th September
Basic Aeronautical Knowledge (B.A.K.)
5th September
Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training Full Time
Commercial Pilot Licence (C.P.L.)
Dangerous Goods Awareness.
7th September
Basic Aeronautical Knowledge (B.A.K.)
Maths & Physics (Physics)
12th September
Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL). Part 2
19th September
Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training Part Time
Private Pilot Licence (P.P.L.) Full Time
3rd October
Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training Full Time
4th October
Private Pilot Licence (P.P.L.) Part Time
17th October
Advanced Diploma in Aviation
31st October
Instrument Rating Theory (PIFR/IREX).
Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) Part 1
5th, 6th & 9th November
Basic Aeronautical Knowledge (B.A.K.)
14th November
Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training Full Time
Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) Part 2
21st November
Aircraft Maintenance.
28th November
Maths & Physics (Maths)
7th December
Maths & Physics (Physics)